Between 1972 and 1991, a group of violent Chicago police officers led by Cmdr. Jon Burge tortured dozens of people, often extracting false criminal confessions from suspects that led to conviction.
Now the city wants to pay those victims, publicly acknowledge the police officers' violence, and build a memorial to honor those who were tortured.
The Chicago City Council voted to approve the payout on Wednesday, in what is believed to be the first reparations offered by a city to citizens as a result of police abuse.
The city approved a $5.5 million package that will help at least 50 torture victims. That money will provide employment training, free psychological and substance abuse counseling, free tuition at Chicago colleges for victims and their families, and up to $100,000 in spending money.
Chicago's public schools will also teach the police torture case to students in eighth and 10th grade, according to The Chicago Tribune..
Even this package is unlikely to put the issue firmly in Chicago's rearview mirror. More and more alleged victims of Burge and his officers continue to come forward with allegations of abuse, and lawyers believe that the number of victims could top out at around 120 men, most of whom are black. More lawsuits may follow.
Burge and his officers became known for extracting confessions from suspects in high-profile murder and rape cases -- but those confessions often came after officers allegedly suffocated, shocked, burned and beat those in custody.
Lawyers for the victims often brought up the torture in court, but Cook County judges generally ignored such testimony.
The Chicago Police Department fired Burge in 1993 after he was linked to torturing Andrew Wilson, a man convicted of murdering two police officers. An investigation completed in 2006 found that torture abounded under Burge's leadership.
He has never been convicted of implementing or overseeing torture while he served as a police officer, since the statute of limitations ran out on those alleged crimes.
Still, Burge did spend four-and-a-half years in jail for lying about torture while under oath. He was convicted in 2010 and released in October of last year, though he was only allowed to leave his home in February.
He still receives a pension from his time working for the police.